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Friday, December 16, 2016

Pathogens Now Boarding!

It’s hard to be believe we are only 9 days to Christmas and
15 days to the end of the year.I’m not
sure where the year has gone, except to say a good portion of it was spent on
45 flights around North America.At
least according to my most recent update from Air Canada, that’s where they say
I’ve been!In fact, my last two flights
of the year were on Monday – a quick day trip from Toronto to Pittsburgh.

Travelling is a double-edged sword. Most of the time it’s gruelling, but there
are times when it can be fun. You have
to be prepared to entertain yourself during long layovers or flight
delays. I generally catch up on reading
and keeping current with newly published science (I know….yawn…), but admit I
spend my fair share of time people watching.
Not to sound snobbish, but I can spot a “traveller” from a “non-traveller”
a mile away. I will also have you know
there is a distinct difference between a “business traveller” and a “vacation
traveller”. Business travellers are far more organized and efficient!

To while away the hours on Monday, I was catching up on some
of my reading and came across a new study
published in the journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infection that looked
at the ease of which antibiotic resistant bacteria like MRSA could be
transmitted from frequently touched surfaces in airports. In essence, they were trying to determine how
easy it was for these bacteria to hitch a ride with travellers. The researchers focused on the inside of the
toilet stall doors making the assumption that as these are frequently used by
multiple people and touched after “potentially unhygienic activities” they
would be expected to be filthy and most likely contaminated with bacteria
commonly found on our skin and gut (aka fecal contamination).

The study looked at 400 bathroom door handles at 136 airports
in 59 countries. Of interest is that 60%
of the samples were from the men’s room….which is rather interesting as we know
from previous blogs on hand hygiene, that men wash
their hands less frequently them women.
While gross to think of, a variety of bacteria commonly associated with
fecal contamination was found on the handles.
Staphylococcus aureus was the most
commonly found bacteria. Stenotrophomonas maltophilia was the
next most commonly found bacteria followed by Acinetobacter baumannii. The strain of MRSA found in one airport in
Paris matched a community-acquired MRSA
found in India. The conclusion of the
study being that antimicrobial resistance is no longer a national problem, but
a global challenge as these resistant bacteria do not respect boarders, have no
qualms on hitching rides and when entering a new country, do not feel the need
to declare themselves! Basically, germs
are making trips we never thought possible.
Thankfully, I have a few weeks
off from travelling over the Christmas holidays. Mid-January will be my first flight of 2017
and after reading this study, I’m not sure I am ever going to be able to look
at or use a public toilet again!